30 Day Black and White Challenge - May 2007

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Pentax

04/27/2007 10:29:00 PM · #176

Originally posted by doc_gonzo:

I likely won't be able to submit EVERYday but, you can count me in on this side challenge.
This is my first challenge like this, do the pics you post everyday have to be from that day or can numerous days' submissions be taken on a single day?

because it can be quite difficult and time consuming to take a photograph every single day and process, put it in dpc & write out your processing steps, and make comments on other ppls work, its ok to do wot you suggest ... we are here to learn and give each other feedback on how to improve our b&w photography ... a lot of ppl wont be able to do the entire 30 days, but will be doing wot they have time for .. dont feel pushed to put one in every single day ...

Message edited by author 2007-04-27 22:29:13.

boysetsfire

Canon EOS-5D

04/27/2007 10:34:20 PM · #177

Originally posted by roz:

Originally posted by boysetsfire:

Originally posted by colorcarnival:

Originally posted by _eug:
I tend to be lazy about it and just do grayscale, but I recently found Picasa does filtered B&W which allows you to use a color picker to have different parts of the image pop. Many people with REAL Photoshop use the chanels mixer to do this kind of filtering.

I've read some people here describe the channel mixer thing and I did not get it. I don't know enough about it in the first place and I think that is my problem. I like doing the grayscale too. The ultimate in lazy tho - I just use the setting in my camera lol.

if your not comfortable with the chanel mixer (i only use it sometimes) simple desaturation on your image comes up looking "true" to the tones that are captured. most of my images are done like this and i believe Ed e301 does it this way also (i may be wrong) take a look at his b/w images and not much more needs to be said.

i think this needs to be said .. and please dont misunderstand me, coz i'm not being rude ...
but from memory ... when you use the channel mixer and go monochrome then adjust the sliding scales on the individual colours then you will achieve quite a different b&w image than if you just do a straight desat ... if i'm wrong please correct me ... :) .. and just because one photographer can achieve excellent results with a straight desat doesnt mean that others might not want to try the chanel mixer for different effects ... :)

hey roz,
i think you may have misunderstood what i was saying, i was simply saying if someone was not comfortable using chanel mixer because they didnt understand it then simple desaturation can be an effective way to convert to b&w (rather than greyscale). And yes chanel mixer can give you great effects if understood, a lot of the time better effects than desaturation.
nick

Artyste

Sony Ericsson W810i

04/28/2007 01:47:11 AM · #178

Originally posted by boysetsfire:

Originally posted by roz:

Originally posted by boysetsfire:

Originally posted by colorcarnival:

Originally posted by _eug:
I tend to be lazy about it and just do grayscale, but I recently found Picasa does filtered B&W which allows you to use a color picker to have different parts of the image pop. Many people with REAL Photoshop use the chanels mixer to do this kind of filtering.

I've read some people here describe the channel mixer thing and I did not get it. I don't know enough about it in the first place and I think that is my problem. I like doing the grayscale too. The ultimate in lazy tho - I just use the setting in my camera lol.

if your not comfortable with the chanel mixer (i only use it sometimes) simple desaturation on your image comes up looking "true" to the tones that are captured. most of my images are done like this and i believe Ed e301 does it this way also (i may be wrong) take a look at his b/w images and not much more needs to be said.

i think this needs to be said .. and please dont misunderstand me, coz i'm not being rude ...
but from memory ... when you use the channel mixer and go monochrome then adjust the sliding scales on the individual colours then you will achieve quite a different b&w image than if you just do a straight desat ... if i'm wrong please correct me ... :) .. and just because one photographer can achieve excellent results with a straight desat doesnt mean that others might not want to try the chanel mixer for different effects ... :)

hey roz,
i think you may have misunderstood what i was saying, i was simply saying if someone was not comfortable using chanel mixer because they didnt understand it then simple desaturation can be an effective way to convert to b&w (rather than greyscale). And yes chanel mixer can give you great effects if understood, a lot of the time better effects than desaturation.
nick

Believe me.. no *ONE* technique is good for every photo. I keep four or five different techniques in my "conversion toolkit". Every photo is unique and individual, and as such, every photo will need it's own touch with a B&W conversion method. You can generally scale it down to certain groups of photos that do well with certain conversion methods, and that's something you'll find as you do it more an more.. but nobody should ever rely on any one technique.

If you find that what you are using isn't working for you, experiment with something else. Some methods can seem a bit confusing and overwhelming at first, but really, they are all quite simple when it comes right down to it.

For this challenge, keep a few techniques in mind and try all of them on each of your first few pictures. Find what works the best in certain circumstances... and just plain have fun with it.

Remember that not every B&W is equal either. High contrast, low contrast, temperature control.. all can have subtle and not so subtle changes to your photos that can affect the mood and feel in an amazingly large way. So watch for getting stuck in a "conversion" rut. Don't let yourself get caught doing the same conversion for every photo.

This will be an interesting 30 days :)

MAK

Leica M Monochrom

Voigtlander Ultron 21mm f1.8

04/28/2007 02:12:59 AM · #179

so many styles...... so little time

Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM

04/28/2007 03:10:28 AM · #180

Originally posted by MAK:

so many styles...... so little time

obviously that's an indirect and fairly obvious push for this to go for the 90 days you were wanting before .. and i think i said something at the time like ... ARE YOU INSANE !!! .....??? .. LOL AND :) ...

xantangummi

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

04/28/2007 03:14:47 AM · #181

I'm so in.

JunieMoon

Sony Alpha a7 II

Sony FE 3.5-5.6/28-70 mm OSS

04/28/2007 07:19:06 AM · #182

After looking through e301's work, I am inspired. I hope I can establish a nice rhythm as I do this challenge. It is exciting and I am chomping at the bit to get started. Thanks for putting this side challenge together. It will be a piece of photographic Heaven. I hope that most will share their conversion techniques. I use the following, total monochrome which is a preset, then I use hue and saturation sliders as another, which just allows me to take away color, then I also have an enhancement called duotones which allows me to get really contrasty b&w, and I have just recently (in the past few days) begun using channel mixer. This is really exciting to be challenged in this way.
I have also done combinations of these. Sometimes I will use channel mixer just to affect one color, than do a duotone treatment. It is truly fun and amazing what results you can get.

Message edited by author 2007-04-28 07:30:53.

MAK

Leica M Monochrom

Voigtlander Ultron 21mm f1.8

04/28/2007 07:36:23 AM · #183

Originally posted by roz:

Originally posted by MAK:
so many styles...... so little time

obviously that's an indirect and fairly obvious push for this to go for the 90 days you were wanting before .. and i think i said something at the time like ... ARE YOU INSANE !!! .....??? .. LOL AND :) ...

It's a fair cop!

GinaRothfels

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

04/28/2007 07:52:34 AM · #184

Count me in.

colorcarnival

Olympus 45mm f1.8 M.Zuiko Digital Micro Four Thirds

04/28/2007 10:06:00 AM · #185

Originally posted by MAK:

Originally posted by roz:

Originally posted by MAK:
so many styles...... so little time

obviously that's an indirect and fairly obvious push for this to go for the 90 days you were wanting before .. and i think i said something at the time like ... ARE YOU INSANE !!! .....??? .. LOL AND :) ...

It's a fair cop!

DO BEHAVE you two....

Just kidding. Wouldn't be any fun if you two were behaving.

MAK

Leica M Monochrom

Voigtlander Ultron 21mm f1.8

04/28/2007 04:36:27 PM · #186

Originally posted by colorcarnival:

Originally posted by MAK:

Originally posted by roz:

Originally posted by MAK:
so many styles...... so little time

obviously that's an indirect and fairly obvious push for this to go for the 90 days you were wanting before .. and i think i said something at the time like ... ARE YOU INSANE !!! .....??? .. LOL AND :) ...

It's a fair cop!

DO BEHAVE you two....

Just kidding. Wouldn't be any fun if you two were behaving.

Sorry mum... *GRIN*

weegi70

Olympus E-500 EVOLT

Olympus 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 Zuiko Digital ED

04/28/2007 08:17:40 PM · #187

A quick question for portraits... how do you guys get candid shots of people with out looking like a stalking creep? just wondering... a few of my B&W ideas include people, but i don't have any models, so im thinking candid.. but i want to live.. :P,

-thanks.

_eug

Nikon D50

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

04/28/2007 08:23:58 PM · #188

Originally posted by weegi70:

1) Don't stalk.
2) Don't be creepy.

Don't act like you're doing something wrong. You're not. You're a photographer taking pictures. Take pictures. If some one says "No," it means No. In that case don't take pictures of that/those person/people.

;)

GinaRothfels

Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Olympus 8mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital ED Fisheye PRO Lens

04/28/2007 08:35:39 PM · #189

Another easy method of black and white conversion is using the virtualPhotographer plugin. You can get all sorts of different effects with very little effort.

I don't use it very often myself because I keep forgetting I've got it, but I've had some good results. Just a warning - don't use it in basic editing.

_eug

Nikon D50

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

04/28/2007 08:48:08 PM · #190

Originally posted by GinaRothfels:

I just installed that within the last 2 weeks, but I have used it yet. Good to know!

shutterpuppy

Sony Alpha a7

Canon FD 70-210mm �4.0 MF

04/28/2007 08:53:50 PM · #191

Count me in. I won't be able to start until around May 6th, when I'm finally all graduated and stuff. But I'm all in after that.

04/28/2007 09:08:42 PM · #192

Originally posted by MAK:

Originally posted by colorcarnival:

Originally posted by MAK:

Originally posted by roz:

Originally posted by MAK:
so many styles...... so little time

obviously that's an indirect and fairly obvious push for this to go for the 90 days you were wanting before .. and i think i said something at the time like ... ARE YOU INSANE !!! .....??? .. LOL AND :) ...

It's a fair cop!

DO BEHAVE you two....
Just kidding. Wouldn't be any fun if you two were behaving.

Sorry mum... *GRIN*

this is just one of the things i love about dpc ... NO-ONE TAKES ME SERIOUSLY!!! .. and altho this is a wonderful place to learn about all things photographic and get the most amazing critiques (thank you to

stdavidson), we can also have a bit'v fun with each other ... it always puts a *GRIN* on my face when i read this sort'v give & take ... I JUST LOVE IT ....

Message edited by author 2007-04-28 21:17:06.